Sewing skills thought lost to past generations are being reborn as part of a city project to tackle the cost of living crisis.
Young women in West Belfast are threading needles and learning how to ‘cast on’ as they upcycle clothes that previously may have gone in the bin or off to the charity shop.
And the project, run by the Active Communities Network, is hoped to have a positive impact on the environment too as it pushes back against a ‘fast fashion’ ethos that sees huge resources poured into a constant demand for the latest trends.
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Rachelle McCurry, who is co-ordinating the project, says the newly acquired skills are also “bringing families together” as knitting needles previously only used by granny are brought out again in living rooms across the city.
She added: “It’s like old skills are being reborn out of neccessity, because of the cost of living crisis. The young women, like the rest of us, have seen the price of clothes double so by learning these new skills, like how to work a sewing machine or patch-work, they have seen so many benefits.
“But as well as the practical benefits, it’s building confidence in them too which is what we are about. They’re taking pre-owned clothes, clothes that would have gone to the charity chop, and reworking them which has an obvious financial benefit, but it’s also good for the environment and pushes back against this fast-fashion idea.”
And the re-imagining of old clothes has not stopped at the women’s own wardrobes. Can has made contact with local inspirational women who have each donated two items of clothing which are being altered ahead of a City Hall catwalk show next week.
Rachelle adds: “It’s like London fashion week here with everyone frantically sewing away to get their designs ready for next week, but it’s brilliant for the young women involved.”
Women ranging from politicians like Mayor Tina Black and MLA Kate Nicholl to social media influencers - who are hoped to spread the upcycling message - will don their renewed creations on International Women’s Day on Wedneday.
The eight models will be dressed by ten young women involved in the programme with the catwalk show also featuring inspirational stories of how the women have thrived in sometimes difficult circumstances.
The Active Communities Network, based at the Twin Spires centre off the Falls Road, is a charity organisation ‘that uses positive activities to work in communities across Belfast’ with staff who specialise in different areas of sports, education, therapeutic elements and youth work.
The organisation received Department for Communities funding in 2021 to do a ‘focused intervention with young women’. Their EmpowHer campaign was born out of this programme and is described as a ‘tool to engage and empower women’s safety’.
The programme, from September, has been tackling the cost of living, saving the planet and ‘bringing back the dying skill of sewing back into young women’s lives with a creative twist’.
The Can adds: “Our young people have been developing their skills by re-designing and re-working their own clothing range. They have gained a good understanding about the fast fashion industry and why creating sustainable fashion is more safe and can benefit our environment.
“Our programme has encouraged recycling, redesigning, reworking and using items already within the family home. Learning to love your clothes and also yourself again. Develop your creativity skills and create some unique looks.
“The young people get the opportunity to put their skills to use but participating in a sustainability fashion show to show off their fantastic designs.”
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